Difficulties arise in therapeutic treatment of psychological and psychic disorders because patients close their minds and are not receptive to reasonable suggestions of a therapist for inducing learning or behavioral changes. Most patients will place a higher value on concepts self derived from their own analysis than those not based on personal experience and those strange or contrary to self determined behavioral patterns. It is therefore a problem for therapists to convert a patients's behavioral pattern by direct counsel, advice or persuasion.
It has long been known, as evidenced by U.S. Pat. No. 3,060,795-Oct. 30, 1962, R. E. Corrigan et al., and an article entitled "Perception of Subliminal Visual Stimuli" by A. C. Williams in Journal of Psychology, Vol. 6, July-Oct., 1938, for example, that indirect visual stimulation can reach through such mental blocks. However, the techniques of that patent involving subliminal perception rely upon an obscure and vague image that is difficult to perceive by many minds and patients. That teaching is limited to producing a covert message with an effective intensity barely perceivable and below that ability or conscious recognition level of an observer to report the stimulus verbally. Thus, the message is presented in an environment where the observer is not consciously aware of any change in his environment and physical status when the input information is imparted.
This is an additional deficiency in the treatment of psychological or psychic disorders because it is rarely possible to significantly improve behavior patterns unless the patient is willing to accept treatment from the therapist by self determination and has an interest in the correction of a problem.
Thus a departure from those prior art teachings is necessary both for obtaining a more prominent, intense and effective stimulus and for treating patients under environmental conditions where they are willing to look for solution to a problem.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide more effective equipment for visual stimulation of a character useful for therapeutic treatment of psychological and psychic disorders.